I Became the Alchemy Master by Picking Up Trash-Chapter 190 - 188: Xi Yuan Tournament (Part 14)

After nightfall, the desert temperature dropped rapidly, the scorching heat replaced by a biting cold, and a thin layer of white frost covered the sand’s surface.

Chou Xiaoyuan, heavily suffering from heatstroke, finally awakened under the stimulus of the cold air. But awake or not, he was now completely powerless, his Primordial Spirit shackled, utterly devoid of combat strength, just a useless person.

The howls of Star Beasts echoed across several sand dunes, like the horn of a beast pack on a hunt. In the shadowed desert sea, countless life-and-death battles unfolded.

The Tu Ling Team dared not stay put as sitting ducks and pressed ahead under the cover of night.

This time, they adopted a serpent formation, with Lin Yin paving the way at the front, Song Shurun carrying Chou Xiaoyuan in the middle, and Pei Nan bringing up the rear.

Countless green and red glows flickered near them; Chou Xiaoyuan knew those were the eyes of Star Beasts.

Song Shurun trudged arduously, the sand reaching his calves, each step a grueling test of his stamina.

Lying on his back, Chou Xiaoyuan choked up and said, "Brother Song, put me down. In this competition, I’m nothing but a burden. Rather than dragging you all down, I might as well just bow out..."

The team no longer had extra Energy Stones to spare for him, and the temperature regulation talisman had failed. While the temperature was low now, once the sun rose and the heat surged again, he was bound to be out.

Better to cut losses quickly than to prolong the suffering and delay the inevitable; leaving now was the wiser choice.

Song Shurun disagreed with his thinking: "No way! You’re the team’s only talisman master. Without you, who will construct the defensive formation for us?"

Chou Xiaoyuan forced a bitter smile: "Don’t joke, Brother Song. In my state, how can I construct any defensive formation? Without me, Pei Nan and Lin Yin need only to protect you, which also saves their strength and Primordial Spirit..."

To be outshone by the environment was a great humiliation for Chou Xiaoyuan, and he wouldn’t choose this path unless absolutely necessary.

If on the battlefield, he could have explosively used his Primordial Spirit to create a combat opportunity for his teammates, dying heroically. But this was a competition, and he couldn’t even have a chance to make that final contribution. He’d rather leave early than burden the team.

"If you can’t construct a defensive formation, you can still guide us. In this vast desert, without any landmarks, we wouldn’t even reach Turquoise Pool without you."

Chou Xiaoyuan’s eyes reddened: "Brother Song..."

"Enough! Stop the whining. In this competition, the Tu Ling Team must advance and retreat together. We arrived together, and we’ll leave together. Don’t think of returning to the city early to enjoy air conditioning!"

Pei Nan, walking behind, overheard their conversation. He could understand Chou Xiaoyuan’s feelings—if it were him who lost combat ability, he would have the same thoughts. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

But Chou Xiaoyuan’s situation was due to the shackles of his elemental attribute; he hadn’t done anything wrong. Pei Nan couldn’t just watch him leave.

"The Captain is right! In this hellhole of a desert, hot by day, cold by night, who doesn’t want to go back early? Chou Xiaoyuan, if you’re a true friend, stick it out with us!"

Lin Yin, walking in front, with an icy demeanor, muttered a soft curse, "Idiot."

Encouraged by Song Shurun and Pei Nan, Chou Xiaoyuan stopped mentioning dropping out and refocused to guide the team.

They were roughly nine kilometers from Turquoise Pool in a straight line. If no Star Beast disrupted them, they could make it before dawn.

But Song Shurun asked Chou Xiaoyuan to find a nearby place to shelter until morning, then resume their journey.

Pei Nan asked, "Captain, why wait until morning?" He didn’t want to stay in this cursed place a second longer. Wouldn’t it be better to grab the competition flag as soon as possible?

Song Shurun explained, "Turquoise Pool is the largest water source in the Ruoye Desert. At night, Star Beasts nearby all come to drink. Going now is sheer suicide. When the sun rises and the temperature climbs, the packs of Night Star Beasts retreat to their lairs for rest. That’s the safest time to continue."

Under Chou Xiaoyuan’s direction, they quickly found a partially sand-buried boulder, with a naturally formed cave in its middle, just large enough to house all four of them.

They haphazardly ate a few bites of Star Beast Meat, taking turns to rest. Just then, a high-pitched wolf howl echoed from afar.

"What’s going on?"

On guard outside the cave, Pei Nan gazed toward the direction of the wolf howl, his expression serious.

"It’s Iron Bone Wolves."

Song Shurun was startled. Iron Bone Wolves were gold attribute Star Beasts, their backs coated with metallic spikes, fierce and ruthless, resilient and hard to dispatch. They were one of the most challenging Star Beasts in the Ruoye Desert.

The most troublesome part was, Iron Bone Wolves roamed in packs. Once prey was marked by the wolf pack, not even a Desert Mammoth could escape death.

Song Shurun asked nervously, "Can you see how many there are?"

"Four," Pei Nan replied.

Pei Nan’s night vision surpassed others. In his view, four scrawny Iron Bone Wolves, with drooping tails, circled several hundred meters away, cautiously testing their approach.

Song Shurun’s heart eased; thankfully, they were quite lucky to encounter an ultra-small wolf pack. Given the Tu Ling Team’s current combat strength, four Iron Bone Wolves were manageable.

Then, Lin Yin, who had been silent all day, spoke, his tone still so gloomy:

"Hah. One dares to speak, yet another dares to believe. I’ve never seen an Iron Bone Wolf pack with only four members in my life."

Pei Nan’s face flushed red and white. Lin Yin was better off not speaking; once he did, you felt like punching him. He shouldn’t open his mouth!

"Then how many do you say there are?"

"At least four hundred," Lin Yin replied.

"What—!" Everyone was shocked. If true, they were in dire straits.

Song Shurun pressed, "Lin Yin, are you certain?"

Lin Yin’s dark eyes gazed calmly and coldly at Song Shurun as he slowly said, "When the sun set, this pack of Iron Bone Wolves already targeted us, following us from the campsite to here."

Seeing Song Shurun’s shocked look, Lin Yin chuckled, a wild grin spreading:

"Even if your spiritual power is too weak to sense their presence, do your eyes also fail? The glowing wolf eyes in the dark shine like light bulbs, drifting around us, really can’t understand how you managed to ignore them."

Song Shurun was speechless. He had been walking while carrying Chou Xiaoyuan, his legs laden like lead, all his focus on moving forward, not on whether there were glowing Iron Bone Wolf eyes around.

Chou Xiaoyuan pursed his lips and stayed silent; he had noticed something amiss but hadn’t realized it was Iron Bone Wolves, so didn’t alert the group earlier. His condition wasn’t top-notch today indeed.

Although Lin Yin’s spiritual power level was only Beta, his Primordial Spirit was unique. Influenced by it, his spiritual power fluctuated immensely. His spikes in spiritual power were such that even Chu Yunyi dared not underestimate him. Lin Yin’s certainty meant the Iron Bone Wolf count was likely accurate.

Pei Nan asked, "If the wolf pack’s numbers are so great, why have only four shown up?"

Lin Yin snorted, "They’re unsure of our combat strength and dare not rush into battle, so the lead wolf sent four vanguard scouts to test us."

Lin Yin’s explanation eased Pei Nan’s last bit of doubt.

Vanguard scouts were discarded wolves sent by the pack to die. No wonder the four Iron Bone Wolves were skin and bones, looking barely able to survive.